Compared to several decades ago, do you think the
Internet has changed people's lives?

Question Date: 2014-03-10

Answer 1:

I think that the Internet has had a dramatic
impact on the way that people live today in
comparison to a few decades ago. It has changed
the way that we communicate with people, how we
shop, and how we access information (just to name
a few examples).

When I was in second grade, we had to go to the
library and look through a giant file cabinet full
of index cards in order to find books on the
topics in which we were interested. Now I just
type a keyword into Google, and I have access to
endless amounts of information.

I’ll also add that I am currently writing to
you from a small village on the Caribbean coast of
Nicaragua (which is in Central America) where I am
living and doing research this year. If I was here
20 or 30 years ago, it would take weeks for me to
send or receive a letter from home. Now I just
open my computer, and I can send emails and talk
over FaceTime with my friends and family everyday.
I can even answer questions for ScienceLine!

I think that the changes that have come with
the Internet are not all good or all bad, but a
little of both. It is amazing to be able to
instantly find out the answer to any question you
have. And thinking of my life right now, I would
feel really lonely if I couldn’t talk with my
friends and family for a whole year while I was
away doing my work. Yet, my friends and I often
complain that we used to have long conversations
about issues or ideas. Now when someone asks a
question, someone else pulls out their iPhone,
looks up the answer, and the discussion is over.
Also, if I was in Nicaragua 30 years ago and
unable to talk with people back home, I wouldn’t
know what I was missing out on!